Better Business Bureau issues social media scam warning
[anvplayer video=”5069283″ station=”998131″]
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — As the holiday season gets closer, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning people to be extra careful when buying anything from social media ads.
BBB officials say their scam tracker has received thousands of complaints about misleading ads on Facebook and Instagram.
Online purchase scams have spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year alone online purchase scams were the most reported complaint to the BBB scam tracker, and had the highest number of victims.
The BBB released the following list of red flags for shoppers:
- Products that claim to support a charity
- Free trial offers
- Name-brand goods that are fake
- Red flags such as spelling and grammatical errors in the advertisements, poor-quality images, and items that are priced significantly lower than what other retailers are charging
- Engaging ads and poor customer service. This can range from beauty products to trendy clothing and even children’s toys
- Apps of unknown origin
Click here for more information on how to avoid scams this holiday season. Click here to use the BBB’s scam tracker.
